It's an intriguing new show casting Jim Carrey as a children's television host coping with a personal crisis.
Showtime on Monday at the TCA summer tour in Los Angeles released a preview for a new show called Kidding, featuring the comedy ace as Jeff/Mr. Pickles, in what's his first recurring role in more than two decades since his stint on In Living Color.
According to the network, the show casts the 56-year-old star of hits such as The Cable Guy, Dumb and Dumber and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective as 'a beacon of kindness and wisdom to America's impressionable young minds, who also anchors a multimillion-dollar branding empire.
'But when Jeff's family begins to implode, he finds no fairy tale or fable or puppet will guide him through the crisis, which advances faster than his means to cope.'
The ensuing result, according to the network, is 'a kind man in a cruel world [who] faces a slow leak of sanity as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.'
In the opening of the preview, Carrey's voice narrates, 'There’s a spark of greatness inside each and every one of us ... in you, in me, there’s a lovely light, that can never go out.'
The preview includes a montage of scenes showing Jeff balancing his life as a TV host of Mr. Pickles’ Puppet Time and his personal life, at one point shaving his head across the front of his shaggy brown mane.
The storyline of the series, according to Deadline, puts Jeff at odds against his executive producer Seb (Frank Langella), who sees his nine-figure meal ticket disintegrating amid Jeff's personal crisis.
The show also examines the program's puppet maker Deirdre (Catherine Keener) dealing with her own unique issues.
Carrey, opening up on the series at the TCAs, said that it's the right time to play a role like Jeff, as he feels he's 'well-schooled and experienced enough to do this part,' according to the Los Angeles Times.
Carrey said he's intriguing by the inherent theme of the show: 'The search for who we are and what’s an authentic person have always been attractive themes for me.
'The idea of being hit by a freight train in life and trying to hold onto your identity calls to me.'
At the panel, Carrey also opened up on the political cartoons he's been producing in speaking out against President Donald Trump and members of his administration, saying it all came about organically.
'It’s not a choice – it’s just happening,' Carrey said. 'It’s my reflex to what I’m seeing, which I don’t like. It’s a civilized way of dealing with it. You can tweet all you want but there’s something about a creation that makes it fun to consume and it’s saying what I need to say.'
Kidding, which co-stars Cole Allen, Bernard White and Coda Boesel, is slated to debut on Showtime September 9 at 10/9c.
Summer smiles: The veteran comic looked to be in a great mood at the industry event in LA
Group shot: Jim Carrey posed with co-stars Judy Greer and Catherine Keener at the event
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